Phelan
by ghostlyAcrimony
Summary: As a young child, Eren Jaeger was abandoned in the woods. Just like those stories of 'feral children', he himself was raised by a mother wolf until he finds himself in a hunter's trap. Sent to an institution for rehabilitation, it takes him quite some time to even be able to function as a person. And Jean, one of his 'handlers', is tasked with housing him. (rating may change)
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Waah! Ewahh!"

A cry of a toddler echoed through the forest as the sun set, leaving the child in near darkness. While he'd slept, the boy had been carefully set on the damp ground by his own mother, who fled at first chance.

The series of events that had left him abandoned deep in the woods were not in his favor. Teen mother, angry parents, a father who refused to see him, all lead to the undeniable fact of his every lowering rate of survival.

"M-mommy...Mommy!" The child wailed, fat tears escaping as he lamenting raised in volume. "Uwaah!" Being scared of the dark only made this harder on the boy, his chubby fingers doing their best to wipe away his own tears.

Suddenly, a low growl alerted the boy to certain animal crouched a few feet behind him.

A wolf.

A mother wolf, to be exact. The yelps and whimpers of her pups could be heard faintly from the den located behind a patch of bushes that concealed it from view

"...doggy...?" The boy's sobs subsided as he noticed the animal, a smile breaking through his tears. "Doggy!" He squealed, struggling up to his feet to wobble closer to it.

Strangely enough, she didn't attack the boy, as most would have expected her to. The cries she'd heard had resembled that of an upset wolf pup, so naturally, she assumed that was what he was. Albeit a strange looking one.

She allowed the toddler to come up to her and pat at her thick fur, moving to lick his cheek, eliciting a giggle from him. "Nice doggy!"

This went on until the wold grew tired. She latched her teeth on the back of the child's shirt and dragged him into the her den, curling up with him along with her pups.

And thus begun Eren Jaeger's new life with his adoptive mother. Although, seven years later, it would seem that he would yet again lose his mother. 

(Just a little prologue of a story I've been thinking of doing...if you guys like it, I'll continue. The actually chapters will be much longer, I promise. ._.)


	2. Chapter 1

"I'm telling you! There's a kid in the trap!"

"Right...have been drinking again? Why would there be a kid out here, idiot?"

"I don't know, but there is!"

The two men bickered amongst themselves as they trekked through the thick foliage to reach the trap they'd set a few days prior. Their heavy boot steps rang through the silent woods, accompanied only by the shrill call of a far off blue jay. It was a nice day in early fall. A bit chilly, but it never got much colder than that thanks to the location.

That silence was shattered by yelps and howls that sounded far too human to be an animal. Pitiful and edged with pain, they pierced both the men's ears as the approached the trap.

"Jesus fucking christ..." One of them whispered, crouched in the bushes to avoid getting to close. "You weren't fucking kidding."

Sitting in the clearing, his ankle restrained at a painful angle, was a naked little boy. Couldn't be any older than nine or ten. His brunette hair was down to his shoulders in matted locks that his most of his face from view as he scratched at the wire that kept him from escaping. Stranger yet, he threw his head back and howled desperately, like he was calling for someone.

"I told you! So...what do we do?"

"Call the damn police!" He tried not to yell as he yanked out his phone and dialed 911.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

There was clearly something wrong with the boy, that was decided almost instantly. The officer who responded to the call hadn't been prepared for he was now in front of him. This wasn't one of the usual things he was called in for.

"H-hey...settle down kid...you'll be okay..." He did his best to keep his voice as steady as possible. As soon as he'd stepped into the clearing, the boy had been growling at him. Fucking growling like a wild animal. How did this kid even get here? This location was pretty damn far from any town he knew of and the nearest city was miles away. The drive just to get there had taken an hour all on its own. "Can you tell me your name? ...do you know your name?"

The man only received silence as he answer. Eyes the color of the trees themselves stared up at him like he was some kind of threat to his life. Still, he had to get some information out of this kid. "Okay then...Parents? Do you know where your mom or dad is?"

"...mommy." The boy said in a rough voice. "Mommy...mommy...mommy..." He repeated that one word like a chant, almost sounding...sad. "Mommy. Mommy...mommy..." He said again and again and again, pausing every few seconds.

"Ah...yes...'mommy'...do you know where she is?" The officer pressed harder to get him to say something that would help identify him. If he could get a name, any name, he might be able to trace it to a family member in the area.

"Mommy."

The man sighed and rubbed his templed in frustration. This was going no where. "Are you cold? Would like a blanket?" He asked, holding out the one he'd brought with him. The men he'd spoken with had the the kid didnt have any clothes, so he'd grabbed one from the trunk.

"...b...bl...b...lan...ket." The boy switched his gaze to the blanket in the man's arms. He cocked his head to the side and said nothing more than that.

"Here...you can have it." The officer stepped forwards to drape it over him. Unfortunately, he shied away from him and growled, baring his teeth in warning.

In the end, he had to call for reinforcements when the child bit him as soon as attempted to untangle him  
from the trap. The boy hated being touch, so much that were forced to handcuff him as he shrieked and kicked. People around there had only ever heard of children like this before.

Feral children, they call them.

The boy was undeniably one of them. By how he reacted and behaved to seeing humans, it must have been at least a few years since he'd been in contact with anyone. He was extremely malnourished and underweight, his skin burned and callused from sun exposure.

The police at the station took to calling him 'Phelan' for lack of his real name to call him by. It was an irish name meaning 'small wolf'. A fitting name for him. After all, he acted like one. He refused to use the toilet as a bathroom after the loud flush startled him so badly that he hid under the small cot in the makeshift cell for hours.

It wasn't until three days after his discovery that he was taken to a proper institution.

Sagamore Children's psychiatric hospital.

(yes a short, crappy chapter but I don't know what else to write and I'm half asleep so ya. I'll hopefully do better next time.)


End file.
